Shopping for the ingredients made me feel guilty; it's an artery-clogging, sugar-loaded coronary waiting to happen. I didn't let that bother me too much, because I was making it for some boys who were coming over for dinner, and I'm trying to fatten them both up 'cause they're cuter than I am, godammit. In a further, entirely selfless act, I gave them half of the leftovers. You might say this was uncharacteristiaclly generous, but I would call it sensible. Because my gosh, that cheesecake really is a thighsticker.

Anyway, whilst I was licking the mixer bowl (don't pretend you wouldn't), it hit me that chocolate and hazelnut is one of the great flavour combinations in life. People can bang on about chocolate and chilli, strawberries and balsamic vinegar and mangoes and soy sauce (maybe that last one is just my mum), but let's be real about it: Nutella is popular for a reason.

You can see where the thought process went.

These are not Nutella Lamingtons. Nutella will never work as a lamington glue (or rather, coating). It's too thick, too sticky. I did think, more than briefly, about sandwiching these with some Nutella à la Clotted Cream Lamingtons (sinful), but I couldn't because, uh, I'd actually eaten all of the Nutella.

I'm sorry. Don't look at me.

Anyway, you might say that I saved the best for last. I'm refusing to pick. My lamingtons are my babies, and this ain't 'Sophie's Choice.'

To make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling
film and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into eight rectangles.These are big lamingtons!

Toast the nuts in a dry frying pan. This just means pushing them round in an oiless pan until they smell fragrant. Don't let them burn! Once cool, chop them finely. Set the chopped nuts aside in a dish.

Melt the chocolate either over warm water or in the microwave.

Dip the chunks of cake (I said they were big!) into the chocolate and coat well. Then turn and roll them in the chopped nuts. Set them aside to set firm and devour them with a cup of tea and joy in your heart.

Sunday, 23 February 2014

Inspired by my Seville Orange Lamingtons, what was there to stop me from repeating the process using some of my other homemade preserves? Really. What?

Truth told, I think it's nice to have a recipe like this to get me to use up what I stash in the cupboard upstairs. I have a bad habit of keeping the jams and chutneys I make because they are 'precious'. It's counter productive. The point of preserving is to put something away so you can actually enjoy it later, not watch it gather dust.

These lamingtons actually remind me of the old fashioned baker's madeleines you used to see all the time when I was little and which I haven't seen for years and years now that I sit and think about it. The closest you get, at least in the UK, is that rotten coconut and jam topped cake that they do in Starbucks.

To make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling
film and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into 24 cubes, or as many as you like/can.

Make the jam glaze: mix the strawberry jam with a little hot water
from a recently boiled kettle
until smooth and glossy. Add the water a little at a time, because if
you add too much, the glaze will thin out and become unusable. Set the
coconut in a dish.

Dip each cube of cake into the jammy glaze and then roll in the
coconut. Set
aside on a wire rack to dry out. Plastic panda bears are an optional, but thrilling, extra.

Trouble is, as I got ready to make these vanilla lams, I lost interest. I didn't want to eat such a sweet and sickly sounding confection. I wanted coconut, and lots of it.

Now, you might say, looking at this blog, 'Wow. That's a lot of coconut! More than enough.' And you'd be absolutely right. But (and this is true of so many things in life), do you know what's better than just enough?

More.

So we're having coconut lamingtons. They are my favourite of the 2014 batch of Re-Invented Lamingtons. At least, they are my favourites out of the ones I re-invented myself. The lamingtons you have been re-inventing and tweeting me about look pretty sensational as well to be honest. I love seeing your entries when I do this every year, it makes me want to bust out my Blogging Community apron and just weep with happiness.

Right now I have to finish this post though, so my tears are on standby. If you want to Re-Invent the Lamington yourself, I'm running a great giveaway. Details here. Get involved!

To
make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling film
and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into 12 cubes, or as many as
you like/can.To be honest, with this cake (which I baked in a 20cm square tin), as opposed to the chiffon cake I used for the other lamingtons this year, crumbing and breaking is less of an issue, but I still like nice defined edges so recommend the overnight cold treatment.

Make
the glaze: mix the Malibu and icing sugar together until smooth.
If you need to thin it down a little more, use a few drops of hot water
from the kettle. Set the dessicated coconut in a dish.

Dip
each cube of cake into first the glaze and then cover generously in coconut. Set aside on a wire rack to dry
out.

We ate these with ice cream. I don't know why, but they felt much more like a dessert lamington than some of the others.

Friday, 21 February 2014

This lamington is inspired by Percy's mum: she makes the best coffee and walnut cake you've ever tasted. It dawned on me all of a sudden when I was having my lamington nightmare a week or so ago that this most wonderful of cakes (and one of England's best) deserved it's lamington equivalent, and what follows is just that. Except that I (once again) use a coffee liqueur glaze instead of the more traditional buttercream that you'd expect on a coffee and walnut cake.

(Oh come on - do you really think I have the time to coat cake cubes on all sides with frosting using a pallet knife? I'm not as patient as I was in 2010! Plus, I ♥ Tia Maria.)

Now: the more eagle-eyed (I nearly just typed that as aiguille-eyed, which I think would delight my French audience as needles do indeed have eyes) among you may have noticed that I skipped a day yesterday. Really, we should be on Day Eight by now. The reason for this is that I didn't get home until really late yesterday, so was too tired to post anything. Although I landed at Heathrow on time, there was a traffic accident on the motorway and we were delayed for HOURS.

I want to take a moment to talk about that actually. I was really annoyed about it when we were queueing for what seemed like decades, waiting for the traffic to clear. The inconvenience, the fact that I was tired and wanted to get home: it was all getting to me. Then we passed the accident site.

It made me sick to my stomach. No word of a lie, a supermarket truck had exploded in flames and had been reduced to mere cinders. I have no idea if the driver(s) got out ok or not, or if another vehicle was involved, but I can't get the image out of my head.

I know this is just a baking blog. But I want everyone to just take a moment and remind themselves to drive safely. Driving is something we do every day and rarely consider how dangerous it can be. Certainly I'm guilty of that. I need to change, and I dare say we all do. Take care. Be considerate. Give each other enough space. Because it can all turn nasty in the blink of an eye.

To
make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling film
and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into 12 cubes, or as many as
you like/can.

Make
the glaze: mix the coffee liqueur and icing sugar together until smooth.
If you need to thin it down a little more, use a few drops of hot water
from the kettle. Set the walnut pieces in a dish.

Dip each cube of cake into first the glaze and then roll in the nuts. Walnut pieces don't seem to adhere as readily as coconut, so you might have to take your time with this part. Set aside on a wire rack to dry out.

Wednesday, 19 February 2014

Some people don't like grapefruit. I wouldn't trust them if I were you.

What is there not to like? Weirdos.

You can hopefully tell that these lamingtons are supposed to be heart shaped. Well, let me tell you that keeping them that way during the dipping and rolling stage of Lamington Production was almost impossible. Chiffon, though delicious, is rather soft for shaped lams. Stick to the cubes. A little tip from me to you.

Their shape hints at their purpose: Percy likes grapefruit and these were supposed to be valentine gifts. But the light was non existent, I had no choice but to take their photos anyway and I couldn't bear to start the 2014 lamingtons run with such a poor show.

To make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling film and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into 24 cubes, or as many as you like/can. Or try hearts, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Make the glaze: mix the juice, zest and icing sugar together until smooth. If you need to thin it down a little more, use a few drops of hot water from the kettle. Set the coconut in a dish.

Dip each cube of cake into first the glaze and then the coconut. Set aside on a wire rack to dry out.

All campness aside, citrus works great as a glaze here. Feel free to experiment with other types.

Tuesday, 18 February 2014

We're interrupting the baking madness for a day at Delicious Delicious Delicious to let all of you out there know about an amazing opportunity to change your work, life and work life.Four celebrities, well known in their fields for breaking new ground are teaming up with Samsung to mentor hopefuls launching new ideas. The project is called Launching People and is quite literally the chance of a lifetime. The four mentors are going to work with, coach and ultimately launch the hopefuls into the industries they lead in.Obviously, I am guessing that my readers are most likely interested in working with Gizzi on a food-related idea, but this opportunity is not limited to the kitchen: award-winning actor and producer Idris Elba, singer-songwriter Paloma
Faith and portrait and fashion photographer Rankin will also be
nurturing candidates with a passion for film, music and photography. If you're creative, this is for you. Film: Idris Elba, award winning actor, producer, and DJ says: “I want a story that’s inspiring.”Music: Paloma Faith, singer-songwriter, performer and actress says: “I’m really looking for something we’ve not seen in a British artist before.”Food: Gizzi Erskine, leading pop up chef and food writer says: “The simple ideas can be the best. But a simple idea with a bit of glitter on it is far more exciting.”Photography: Rankin, world famous portrait and fashion photographer says “I want to know what they do that’s different, that’s interesting.”

How can you get involved?

To apply you need to make a 2-minute video all about you and your
ambition. Remember that you don't need to be perfect, but you need to be passionate. This is your chance to show off your personality and
your project idea, to get the attention of the mentors. You'll also have to choose an image to represent the idea and scribble a bit of copy about what you plan to do. Get on it!

The mentors will select
four candidates with whom they’ll work one-to-one. The
chosen protégés will spend 2-3 weeks together, working closely with their
mentors in a house fully furnished with Samsung’s latest technology on their
personal projects, building towards a grand launch event and making their ideas
and ambitions a reality.

In addition, the public will get
to vote for one winner in each category to receive £500 for personal tuition
and Samsung technology up to the value of £2000.

I think this is a seriously exciting project to get involved in. Heck, I might even apply.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment, let me know if you decide to submit an application.

I don't want to shave. It's a back to work day, and I have five days of stubbly growth to rid my face of. I can never bear it: I love the way my face looks fuzzy, and have no interest in the clean shaven look. Bah.

OK, day five. Today is brought to you by what I could call the craziest lamington I have ever made, but a quick scan of my sidebar leads me to believe that that honour still rests with the Purple Rain Lamington, and come to think of it, probably will do until I fashion my Aperol Spritz lamingtons.

Wintergreen is something that English people usually I hate. But not this one. I adore it. Whenever I am lucky enough to visit the States, I always, always, ALWAYS bring back as many wintergreen flavoured things as possible. The list last time included Lifesavers, Tic-Tacs, Altoids and chewing gum, and boy oh boy, has my mouth been fresh.

I would go as far as to say that, ignoring the very real and fierce competition from cinnamon and that delicious teaberry flavour that gum comes in, wintergreen is for me, The Taste of America.

When I was cosidering possible lamington flavours for this year's Re-Inventing the Lamington, it suddenly hit me that since wintergreen was one of my favourite things in the whole world, it needed to be included in the lamington hit parade.

Obviously, I know that few people would ever put coconut and wintergreen together (and let's face it, certainly not Mother Nature!), and I can't say that I would rush to do it again, but who cares? This is meant to be fun.

To make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling
film and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into 8 generous cubes, or as many as you like/can.

Make the glaze: mix the 250g icing sugar with the warm water
until smooth and glossy. Add the water a little at a time, because if
you add too much, the glaze will thin out and become unusable. Set the
coconut in a dish.

Make the filling. Crush the Tic-Tacs - I did this in a pestle and mortar. Mix the resulting wintergreen powder with the soft butter and 100g icing sugar. Use this buttercream filling to sandwich the cake pieces together.

Dip each cake sandwich into first the glaze and then roll in the
coconut. Set
aside on a wire rack to dry out.

Monday, 17 February 2014

Wow. Day Four. Nearly half way through the coconut coated monster challenge that is Re-Inventing the Lamington.Where does the time go?

Today's lamingtons are a tribute to my favourite citrus, the Seville Orange. Sevilles are used for marmalade, mostly. Essentially, they are bitter and not much to look at (if I were a fruit... sigh...), but they have the sort of intense orange flavour that just jumps up and punches you in the mouth. I love them, and use them instead of lemons in all sorts of things when they are in season, but regular readers know that already, right?

I wanted to create a lamington that celebrated their unique flavour and fragrance. The trouble is that they are only in the shops for a few weeks from the middle of January, so I had to do something that I wasn't really sure would work; use them in their preserved form. That meant trying out marmalade as a glaze.

Well, I am happy to report that it worked. More than worked. These lamingtons pack all the kerpow of a Seville, have a simple and clean look and really deliver on flavour.

And you know, that's really what baking's all about at the end of the day. If you aren't pretty, or rich... Flaunting your cakes is all you have in life.

I mean, unless you want to be nice. But, pfft... Who has time for that?

1 x jar (around 250g) Seville Orange Marmalade (I used homemade, but you can obviously buy it if you prefer)
100g dessicated coconut

To make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling
film and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into 24 cubes, or as many as you like/can.

Make the marmalade glaze: mix the marmalade with a little hot water from a recently boiled kettle
until smooth and glossy. Add the water a little at a time, because if you add too much, the glaze will thin out and become unusable. Set the coconut in a dish.

Dip each cube of cake into first the glaze and then roll in the coconut. Set
aside on a wire rack to dry out. It will be difficult to resist the temptation to lick your fingers with these lamingtons, or at least it will if you love marmalade as much as I do, but in the interests of hygiene, please try.

Sunday, 16 February 2014

Look, I am not a food stylist; I don't know why I decided to put these lams in a rocks glass and yes, I know the lighting is terrible. But frankly, when you're looking at making and baking ten different kinds of lamington over two days in grey and blustery February, you have to just go with whatever you can get. It works for me. That is all I can really ask for.

Now: I know that more often than not, my lamingtons involve a liqueur from my drinks cabinet, and that it must seem like I am always drinking. I honestly am not. It's just that I love a good cocktail, and before I discovered that it was never going to get any better than Tanqueray martini (twist, always a twist), I allowed my cupboards to get somewhat full. The lamingtons help me work through my stockpile.

Crème de menthe is a bit of a bugger as you can't really do much with it, and I don't have an ice crank, so frappé is never really an option. So I feel good about using it here and freeing up space. For gin and vermouth.

I will be totally honest though: these lams didn't really do it for me. I love the fact that they were glazed, as opposed to chocolate coated, because that makes for a better texture, but mint and coconut is not a combo that I would lay my life on the line for.

Perce loved them.

Oh, and I am dedicating these lamingtons to the gorgeous and helpful staff at the Washington branch of American Apparel in South Beach, Miami. The way they pronounce 'menthe' as 'menth' and not 'mont' gets me every time. Cute.

Saturday, 15 February 2014

I have a friend, Natalie, who, like myself, gets stressed over the sorts of things that others think are hum-drum and don't even bat an eyelid over. We worry too much about what people think. Mind you, conversely, I think we both handle the tough stuff that would turn some people into screaming banshees quite well and with a minimum of fuss, so I guess it balances out in the end.

We have a turn of phrase, if you will, that we dust off to calm each other down in times of panic and drama. We say it in our pitch perfect Northern accents (we're both from the best part of the country originally), and it goes like this:

'Look, Duck: if I had a pound for every time I did something I shouldn't, well then I'd probably have about a tenner.'

It works for us.

Of course, nobody gives me a pound when I do something to be regretted later. And nobody gives me a pound when I do something right either. I think I definitely deserve a pound or two for coming up with these lazy person's lamingtons though - No baking. Declassé liqueur. Italian glamour. These have it all.

I adore Tia Maria and so does Perce. We have it on the rocks and so should you. But it's also great for soaking cakes to add coffee flavour and sweetness. I used it to moisten some of the hard amaretti biscuits we got given stacks of for Christmas to make these beautiful 'lamaretti' and it has been what can only be called a triumph.

Don't forget: lamingtons are not just for me to re-invent. You can have a go yourself and maybe even win a prize!

Friday, 14 February 2014

I'm just going to give it to you how you want it with the lamingtons this year: full throttle, fast and nasty. It's Valentine's Day after all - let's treat ourselves.

I got the idea for these lams from a Twitter conversation I had with Dom and the good people at Rodda's, who make the clotted cream that everybody dreams of pretty much every night of their lives.Well, be honest with yourselves - I know what you think about when nobody's watching.

Even when I was younger and thought I didn't like cream (I've been wrong about a lot of things in life, especially things I've thought I wouldn't like... but most of those aren't blog suitable topics), clotted cream always had me salivating. It's rich, smooth and fatty to the point that it seems light and dreamy. But then, pretty much 100% of the time, I think that full fat dairy products taste as though they're low fat even when they aren't. It's one of the food world's great magic tricks.

These lamingtons draw on everything I have learnt from three years of re-inventing. They're chiffon cake, which is flavoursome and soft, even straight from the fridge; they are coated in real milk chocolate, which gives a crisp carapace, the perfect counterpart to their fluffy interior; they are filled, and gorgeously so. I think they might just be perfect, a lamington that the 2nd Baron Lamington really would be proud of. Well, I wouldn't let him call them 'bloody, poofy, woolly biscuits', that's for sure.

To make slicing the cake into lamingtons easier, I wrap it in cling film and freeze overnight. Cut the frozen cake into eight rectangles. You can eat the trimmings later.

Melt the chocolate either over warm water or in the microwave. Set the coconut in a dish.

Now you have a choice: you can either slice each piece of cake through the middle and sandwich with clotted cream before dipping in chocolate and coconut, which is tricky to do neatly but keeps the filling as a nice surprise, or you can dip the cake cubes first into the chocolate, then roll in coconut and slice them when the chocolate has set, before putting them together again with clotted cream. My preference is for the second method, as it gives the lamingtons more of a dessert feel. But I am giving you the freedom of choice.

Saturday, 8 February 2014

Owing to public demand (I hate you all), I will once again be baking crazy lamingtons in 2014. I am typing this on an iPad in a hotel room, so given how not user friendly these things are, I know you'll understand why I am just going to direct you to the original post to find out what I am talking about if you don't already know. (You get to bake with me!)

Now that you and I are on the same page, let's jump to the beat. Audience participation: this is a competition. I have a prize for you to win. This year I cannot decide by myself which of two items I would rather give away. So, leave a comment or tweet me @peterdelicious. The most popular item will be the one that I offer as a prize.

Potential prize 1 of 2.

Since this is a baking blog, I wanted to have a related prize. So, inspired by a recent email from my aunt, telling me I had nice bundts, I thought the Nordic Ware (read: top quality) original six cup bundt would be a perfect temptation to get you all baking.

Potential prize 2 of 2.

However, I also know that lots of my readers already have enough kit and caboodle in their kitchen to sink a battleship. So the other item I had in mind was one of the gorgeous Iittala glass cake plates I recently bought for myself in Helsinki. They are true works of art, especially the apple green version you see here. Trust me. I had no idea of the reputation that Finland has for glassware until I started flying on our new Helsinki route. I think this would be a lovely prize, since most people never treat themselves to nice things, and these beautiful dew drop dishes really make dessert special.

So leave a comment and let me know which you want! Then I can get things moving.

I will start posting my lamingtons for ten days, starting February 14. (We missed the usual January schedule owing to, uh, business and procrastination.)

Okay, the yucky part: the rules.

Firstly, the competition is open to all. Wherever in the world you are. Royal Mail will go anywhere I ask them to, dammit.

Maybe I'll just copy and paste from last time actually. I really hate this iPad.

Come up with a Re-Invented Lamington recipe. Bake it, and photograph the results.

If you have a blog, write a post about it (I am going to do a post linking to all entrants after the closing date) and send me a link. The contact email address is at the top of the page, or you can leave a comment on this post, with a link in it.

If you don't have a blog, you can still enter: just email me the photo and, if possible, the recipe. I will still feature your entry on this blog.

Deadline 28 Feb. I will post all the entries in a Lamington Round Up, and will pick a winner. Or rather, a judge I get to do it for me will. I hate the pressure so have someone in mind to do it for me.

If you are on Twitter or Instagram, use the hash tag #lamingtons2014. Makes it easier for me to find them. I will retweet all entries via Twitter. My username is @peterdelicious.